


For The Stabwounds In Our Backs

by BrutalWarElf



Category: Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Prison, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-17
Updated: 2015-08-19
Packaged: 2018-04-15 05:26:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4594533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrutalWarElf/pseuds/BrutalWarElf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nine years in one of Norway's high security prisons is a price Thor is willing to pay for his brother's freedom and future - provided, of course, that Loki uses his second chance well. After months of adjusting to his fate in isolation, Thor finds himself faced with his new cell mate; the one person he gave up everything for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a prompt from Umakoo on tumblr.

The white wall of Halden Fengsel abruptly cut off Thor's path as he paced through the snow blanketing the acres of blueberry woods that shielded the facility from the outlying farmlands. He laid his hands against the stone, and gazed up the featureless concrete that rose four times his height. It had been months, and he'd settled into the routine of life in the high security prison as well as he could, but the shock of the realisation that this was going to be his view, his life, for years and years to come still occasionally grabbed him by the throat. However humane the treatment he got here, feeling like a caged animal would probably never cease entirely. 

Taking the fall for his younger brother had been the right thing to do, he occasionally reminded himself. As the days since his incarceration changed into weeks and months with no sign of life from Loki, Thor couldn't help but wonder what his brother had done with the second chance offered to him. The split-second decision to chase Loki away from the man bleeding out in an alley in downtown Oslo before witnesses showed up had effectively ended life as he knew it for him. He had confessed to the manslaughter charges he'd been faced with. If he didn't, the manhunt would inevitably lead the prosecution to his little brother. Nobody had questioned the evidence of Loki's knife in his hand.

Thor hoped it had been enough of a wake-up call for Loki to stop messing around, finish his studies, and follow into their father's footsteps like he had once aspired to. There was nothing more he could do from here as long as Loki refrained from contacting him. A rational part of him needed Loki to stay as far away from this place as he could to minimize the chance of his indiscretions coming to light. A more selfish part, however, missed his brother like a hole in the head, and longed to see his face, if only for a moment. Going through the motions of his mind-numbing work in the correctional facility he often imagined his brother snidely commenting on his day to day activities to ease his all-encompassing loneliness.

 Turning away from the wall, Thor headed back in the direction he came from, and wiped the snow off a bench he'd passed earlier to sit down. After an unproductive session with the therapist who had been assigned to him, a gentle woman he bore no ill will yet had no intention of confiding in, he needed his space before returning to his living quarters. Dwelling on the last time he had seen his brother, the incredulous and fearful look Loki had shot him before disappearing as if into thin air, never helped. Despite taking responsibility for Loki's actions now, he had obviously failed his little brother leading up to that point. Whatever had caused Loki to spiral down from the recreational use of cocaine at society parties to stabbing a local dealer to death, it must have happened around the time Thor was deployed in Libya. Neither of them had been the same upon his return, after Norway pulled its soldiers out of the extended NATO mission, but whereas Thor had no trouble moving on with the help of his friends and family, Loki smiled his sardonic smile and maintained nothing had changed. 

Prison had much in common with the military in terms of structured days, discipline and having to answer to authority. He was even used to long periods of not seeing his loved ones, but abroad on missions there was always the chance of a phone call, and the prospect of coming home in the near future. Coming home would be out of the question for another eight years.

The approach of one of the guards pulled him from his thoughts.

'You've got a visitor, Odinson.' The guard's breath misted in front of his face. 'Let me take you to her.'

'Yes, thank you.'

Thor got up, dusting the snow from his trousers. Though it was hard to look his mother in the eyes whenever she came around, he was glad she hadn't given up on him entirely. Like most people, she blamed his military service for his supposed violent outburst, assuming that with extensive counselling he would overcome any trauma that might have origins in the battles he partook in. He was happy to let her believe that.

Knowing virtually nothing about the real circumstances of the stabbing, Thor had surprised himself by how easily he lied his way through the trial that led to his conviction. Perhaps Loki's bad habits had rubbed off on him over the years; perhaps there just wasn't anything he wouldn't do for his little brother - to make up for the neglect he suspected lay at the root of Loki's troubles.  

Surprise caught him off guard as he stomped the snow from his boots upon entering the visitor building. Instead of his mother's blonde up-do like he expected, he spotted Sif's dark ponytail. She stood staring out one of the windows, poised with the warrior's grace that marked her a soldier even without her uniform.

'Hello Sif,' he called softly. Now that his rank had been stripped from him, he was no longer her commanding officer. What was more; outside the barracks they had always been equals.

'Thor,' she breathed when she spun around and their eyes met across the room.

He invited her to the nearest table and took a seat across from her.

'It's good to see you.' Thor uneasily scratched his beard.  Seeing her under these circumstances was surreal. 'How have you been?'

'No, tell me how you are doing,' Sif fired back. There was a hint of anger in the set of her strong jaw. 'Or rather; what you are doing in here.'

Thor feigned confusion.

'I'm serving my sentence, as I must. It's rough at times, but I have myself to thank for that.'

She glanced at the retreating guard and lowered her voice.

'I don't believe for one second that you belong in here. The district attorney might have been eager to pin this on someone, there being enough unsolved cases as it is, but I know you. We've been to hell and back together. Something doesn't add up.'

'My apologies, Sif. I'm not the man you believed me to be.' He forced himself to meet her piercing gaze. 'Sorry to have disappointed you.'

Sif regarded him silently for a moment, scrutinising him with a blend of concern and disbelief.

'You're hiding something.'

At loss for a credible excuse, Thor merely shook his head.

'Fine, don't speak.' She sighed. 'Whatever you've become entangled in, know that I want to help.'

'Thank you,' he said quietly. 'But I am beyond saving.'

He didn't want to be, as long as it kept his brother out of this hell-hole.

'I'm not going to let this go.' Sif leaned forward across the table. 'We all miss you. Volstagg, Hogun, Fandral... This isn't right.'

'Tell me how you've been,' Thor repeated. 'All of you.'

He missed his friends more than he could say, and her presence reopened the wound he had thought neatly scabbed over with time and distance. Sif's tales of life beyond the prison walls made the loss of his freedom more tangible than before. It grieved him to hear how his detention impacted their lives, and the reputation of their platoon, though he felt better for hearing news about them. Thor couldn't bring himself to say much during the allotted time, but Sif vowed she'd be back when leave allowed it.

'Thor... Is there anything I can do for you?'

He began to shake his head, but caught himself.

'My brother...'

'Yes?' Sif said cautiously, trying not to let her dislike show.

'If it's not too much to ask, could you find out where he is, and whether he's alright? Discreetly?'

Sif's face pinched a little, but she nodded.

'Does he still have that apartment in the city?'

'He ought to,' Thor said. 'I asked mother, but they've been out of touch for quite a while now.'

Sif raised an eyebrow.

'Aren't you allowed phone calls?'

'He never answers.'

'He never visited you, either?' she asked.

'I'm not sure word of my situation has reached him at all.'

'Or he simply thinks it convenient to have you out of the way.' Sif looked away, the dark arches of her eyebrows knitting together. 'I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that.'

'It crossed my mind,' Thor admitted. If Loki harboured a similar love for Thor, he hid it well. They were unlike each other in interests as well as self-expression, and Loki at times seemed to view him as a rival for their parents' affection. 'But I care for him, regardless.'

As she rose from her chair, Sif trailed a hand along his arm.

'I'll let you know what I find out. Take care, Thor.'

'Thank you. Give the men my best.'

The prison grounds felt all the more desolate for Sif having walked them for a brief period of time. Thor made his way back to unit B, where he shared a block with murderers and drug traffickers. Even though he hadn't committed this particular crime, Thor had yet to feel intimidated by the other inmates. After all, he had, in all probability, more blood on his hands than any of them combined. Conflicts were few and far between thanks to the guards and therapists' skilled mediation, and Thor made a point of it to stay out of the other prisoners' business. Being a murder convict lend him a certain standing among them, and he was rarely provoked in turn.

The shared kitchen was empty at this hour of the day. With both work and therapy hours behind him, he idly made himself some coffee to chase away the outside chill that still clung to him. Beyond the doorway, guards marched an inmate down the hall; a new one, judging by a similar introduction speech they had given Thor upon his arrival. A flash of jet black hair and a confident strut made his heart skip a beat.

He stopped himself from stepping out into the hallway like a delusional idiot, and picked up his mug of coffee. Loki had been on his mind too much today, but there was little else he could occupy his thoughts with. Earlier that day, his therapist had made an effort to get him to talk about his family dynamics, but he had divulged little beyond his love for his formidable yet kind-hearted mother, his uncannily intelligent and talented little brother, and their strict but fair father. He kept to himself the falling-out that had occurred between his parents and his brother. No one ever went into detail when he had asked after it in an attempt to bring about reconciliation. It was as if all parties involved silently blamed him for his absence when his presence might have made a difference. It bothered him that he would not get the chance to set things right now. Surely his father would not want anything to do with him anymore. He couldn't afford to, as one of the country's most influential politicians, nor could Loki, if he still entertained notions of governing the nation. 

In need of a distraction from his unpleasant thoughts, Thor sought out his room with the intention of watching TV. Halfway through the slow-paced procedural cop show he watched from his bed, he saw the guards retreat through his open door, and silence returned. Just as the action picked up on TV, another shadow darkened his doorway.

'Hello, brother.'

Thor looked up in confusion, a moment of self-doubt flashing through his mind. He hadn't nearly been in here long enough to start questioning his sanity.

Loki smiled down on him, the sardonic little smirk that had been hounding his steps ever since he set foot in this prison curling his bloodless lips.

'Did you miss me?'

 


	2. Chapter 2

Loki let out a surprised yelp when Thor pushed himself off the bed and launched himself at his little brother, grabbing him by the front of the uncharacteristically casual hoodie he wore. Alarm replaced his previously smug expression as Thor leaned in, widening his eyes and flaring his nostrils.

'Loki!' Thor bit out. 'What have you done?' Concern for his brother's well-being warred with instant, seething anger at the squandering of his sacrifice.

Guards came running before Loki could get a word in edgewise, dragging Thor back by his arms.

Loki tried to shrug off the guard that held him back.

'Unhand me.' Loki stared down the guards as if they were his personal security staff and he called the shots; an attitude that came naturally to him, having grown up in high society.

'It's for your own safety, Laufeyson.'

'Yes, thank you for your concern.' Loki was barely polite. Save for his brief alarm, he was not afraid of Thor, secure in the knowledge his brother was incapable of staying cross with him for long.

'Don't go looking for trouble on your first day,' the guard holding Thor added. 'A little respect will go a long way, around here.'

The corners of Loki's mouth pulled down in a condescending expression, but he nodded to get the conversation over with.

Still breathing hard, Thor held up his hands in a placating gesture. The guard gave him a long, hard look before releasing him.  

'Come with me, Laufeyson. There might still be time for you meet your councillor today.'

Thor only registered the name the second time it was mentioned. He wondered how Loki came by that alias, carrying the name Odinson from birth, and what was more, how his brother could have gone through the judicial system using a false name. Knowing Loki, a web of elaborate lies likely protected his real identity.

'I have unfinished business here,' Loki protested.

'Give Odinson some time to cool off, and apologise later, alright?' The guard steered Loki out of the room by his elbow.

Thor started after them, speechless with anger and bewilderment, but the second guard motioned for him to stay put.

'Take a breath. Are we going to have a problem with the new guy here?'

Thor needed to remind himself these men and women were merely doing their jobs in order to stop himself from throwing the guard across the room and going after Loki. He sighed. The way things looked, he and Loki were going to get plenty of time to work out their issues in here.

'No, we... He caught me at unawares, that's all.'

He sat back down on his bed to prove his goodwill. The guard lingered warily until Thor shifted his attention back to the TV, or pretended to. As soon as the footsteps faded in the distance, Thor turned off the TV and tossed the remote away from himself a bit more aggressively than he meant to. He ran a hand through his hair and tried not to think of throwing away nine years of his life for nothing. Toying with the idea of choking the life out of Loki with his bare hands so he'd actually have committed a murder to speak of gave him little satisfaction.

As it grew dark outside, Thor occupied himself with cooking dinner with the other inmates. He held his tongue as they speculated about the newcomer. It was no use revealing they had history - blood ties, even. In here, it might be dangerous. Loki did not show his face during the meal, nor did he come to Thor's room again before lights out.

With eyes wide open in the darkness, Thor had no mind for the sleep that eluded him. Processing the idea that his brother rested a few doors down the hall took time, and made his blood boil every time he stumbled upon that thought between brooding over what else comprised Loki's criminal record.

His alarm went off after a restless night that left him bleary eyed and disproportionately irascible. More preoccupied with the question of what he would do when he would eventually run into Loki again than the tasks at hand, Thor struggled through the six hours of work. Unable to pinpoint whether it was his lack of focus or some sort of masochistic wish for Loki to come to him, he returned to his cell early, foregoing his daily exercise regimen. Loki walked past in the company of a guard late in the afternoon. He was keeping a brave face, but clearly distraught to Thor's knowing gaze. Other than a brief locking of their gazes, however, they were not to see each other that day. Waiting in vain, with only his inner turmoil to keep him company, Thor kept to his cell. Exhaustion pulled him under before lockdown, granting him a little reprieve from the storm inside his head.

It took Loki a week to seek him out again; the level of trouble he went to to avoid Thor on the prison grounds and in the cell block indicative of his need to be left alone. Thor understood. This place had a way of shaking you to the core with its confinement and mandatory soul-searching. He had time.

'Brother,' Loki enunciated. A guard trailed him to make sure that whatever unsolved quarrel they had did not disrupt the peace again.

'Loki.' Thor acknowledged his presence in a faintly accusatory tone.

'Please give us some privacy,' Loki asked the guard when he stepped over the threshold into Thor's cell. 'There will be no more trouble.'

'See to it, Laufeyson,' she said before leaving. 'I'll be around the corner.' 

Thor took in his brother's familiar features from a distance this time. His hair had grown out quite a bit since they'd last seen each other; the shoulder-length locks were unkempt for his standards. Other than that he looked surprisingly hale, compared, as if he'd been enjoying more sleep and less substance abuse.

'Laufeyson?' was the first thing out of Thor’s mouth.

'I do believe I asked you a question first, though I’ll admit it's been a few days.'

Loki's smirk was back in place. Thor countered it with a dangerous look.

'Well, did you?' Loki dared.

Thor opened his mouth, and closed it again, frowning.

'Of course I did,' he said hoarsely. He saw no shame in admitting he had missed his brother. ‘It’s been too long.’

Loki’s eyes narrowed a little, searching his face for traces of insincerity. Whatever he saw there took the sharp edges off his attitude.

'Brilliant, you've got coffee. I'm positively parched.' Loki walked over to Thor's nightstand and picked up the mug that had been cooling there. He pulled a face after taking a sip. 'What?'

He arched his eyebrows at the look Thor levelled at him.

'What are you doing here, Loki?'

'Why, talking to you, of course. I suppose some measure of conversation will be necessary if we are to clear the air between us.'

'I went to this damn prison so you could stay out of it!'

'And I had every intention to do so, but there you have it,' Loki said dismissively.

'I offered you a way out! Why didn't you mend your ways?'

'To be quite honest, I never asked you to.'

'Loki.' Thor bit out in frustration.

'The sooner you get over it, the better, brother.' Loki sank down onto the bed next to him. 'Between the two of us, I'm certain we can devise a plan to get out of here.'

Thor shook his head and barked out an astonished laugh.

'What, you weren't _actually_ planning on doing your time?'

' _My_ time?' Thor growled. 

Loki hid his smile in the mug of coffee, a smile that said 'You're an idiot, Thor' as clearly as words could have. They sat in silence for a while, both expecting the other to speak up.

'Prison hasn't exactly worked wonders on your mood,' Loki observed at last.

'What did you expect? You didn't seem too cheerful when I saw you earlier this week.'

Loki made non-committal sound, a hint of sorrow in his eyes. He ran long, bony fingers through Thor's hair. Thor couldn't help but sigh under the first affectionate touch he received in what seemed like ages, nor could he help feeling a little glad to have his brother at his side, whatever the circumstances. Together, they had always been able to achieve anything, and now that Loki planted the seed of forming an escape plan, any complacency Thor felt regarding his fate melted like snow before the sun.

'I recently sent Sif on a wild goose chase to find you.'

'Sif,' Loki said with distaste. 'I assume your loyal subordinates are frequent visitors?'

'Friends,' Thor corrected mildly. 'It was the first visit I received from anyone besides mother.'

'And you spent it convincing her to look for me. I'm flattered.'

Thor briefly wondered when sarcasm had become Loki's go-to response to everything.

'You sound so cynical, brother.' He patted Loki's thigh and made to get up. 'Come, I'll make us some more coffee, and you can tell me what you've been up to since we last saw each other.'

'In your dreams, Thor,' Loki replied. 'Though I'll take the coffee.'

The casual garb Loki wore around the prison like the other inmates sharply contrasted his usual preferred attire of crisp suits. It made him seem more approachable, Thor thought, and younger. With all his quick wit and studious ambition, it was easy to forget his little brother was still an undergraduate. Thor slung an arm around Loki and steered him towards the kitchen.

Other occupants of their cell block already filled the kitchen.

'Laufeyson,' sneered one of them. 'The boy who would be king.'

Beside him, Thor felt Loki hesitate to enter.

Niks, a foreigner Thor suspected was Latvian mafia, threateningly leaned into Loki's space.

'Thought you were being clever, didn't you?' He addressed Loki with lowered voice. 'Well, I've got you in my crosshairs now, you little shit. I'll teach you to screw me over.'

Thor automatically stepped between them, forcing Niks to back up a few steps.

'You will do no such thing.'

'Give me a reason.'

'I'll rip your head off if harm befalls Loki,' he stated matter-of-factly.

'He looks like he might,' one of the prisoners behind Niks muttered uncertainly. 'I'd be careful.'

'I've got patience.' Niks smirked at Loki. 'Your boyfriend won't be able to offer much protection from behind bars once you and I get out of here.'

Loki didn't correct him, seemingly too worried about what might await him beyond the walls of the prison to open his mouth.

'You have no idea what I'm capable of,' Thor settled on saying, ignoring the cheap jibe. 'But do carry on, if you wish to find out.' 

Thor's small room offered an escape from those who wished Loki ill after he filled a second mug with hot coffee.

'What were those men on about, Loki?' he asked. 'Won't you tell me what's going on - what you've been through?'

'Better not,' Loki said quietly. 'We're better served coming up with a proper scheme. No amount of talking is going to undo the past, so I’d like to keep moving forward.'

'I'm hardly inclined to help you out without knowing what I'm getting myself into. Start talking, and I might.'

'I said no, Thor!' Loki shouted. His smooth, pale face twisted with sudden ire. He shot up, spilling drops of coffee over the rim of his mug when he set it down with force. 'If it’s going to be like that, then you can stay in here and rot for all I care!'

Thor got to his feet, taking Loki into his arms and muffling his protests against his shoulder in a semblance of a hug when a guard glanced through the open door.

'Easy, brother,' he warned in a low voice. 'Keep causing scenes and you might get transferred to unit A. We will not see each other again once that happens. Is that what you want?'

Loki's hands clenched around fistfuls of Thor's shirt, but he shook his head.

Thor let go of him, tucking a loose strand of black hair behind Loki's ear and letting his hand rest on the back of his neck for a moment. Blazing green eyes drilled into his own.

'I'll be here when you need me,' Thor said.

It was an invitation or a dismissal, whatever Loki choose to make of it. He sat down on the bed, his back against the wooden panel.

Loki lingered indecisively in the doorway. 


End file.
